Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

This is the smallest Uganda national park at just 34 sq-km which punches well above its weight with an altitude of 2300 to 4127m a.s.l. Tucked away in the far southwest corner of the country, the tropical rainforest cloaks three dramatic extinct Volcanoes and, along with the contiguous Parc National Des Volcans in Rwanda and Parc National Des Virungas in the DRC( which together with Mgahinga forms the 434 sq-km Virunga Conservation Area), this is the home of half the worlds mountain gorilla population. Elephants, Buffaloes and Serval are rarely seen, but they’re also out there.

ACTIVITIES

Gorilla Tracking

Gorilla Tracking is still the main attraction here, but it’s less popular than Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, due to only one Habituated family having atendency to duck across the mountains into Rwanda or the DRC but there’s much more on offer here than just gorillas. Mgahinga also serves up some challenging but rewarding treks and an interesting cave, plus Golden monkey tracking is almost as fun as hanging out with the big boys and other wildlife include Buffalo, Stripped Weasel, Boehm’s and Ruwenzori Sun Squirrel, Side-stripped Jackal, Honey Badger and Servel Cat.

Birding in Mgahinga

Although scenically very rewarding with at least 115 Bird species, it’s not necessary to climb to the top of the Volcanoes to see the specialties of the park. Most of the avian attraction may be found on the excellent gorge trail, which loops half way up Mt Sabinyo, traverses a variety of montane habitats and takes 3-4 hours to complete. From Ntebeko camp, the trail winds up through former Farmland where the regenerating vegetation has a semi-natural heath character.